I decided that for my first official script review on this blog, I would review a movie I have not seen. Don't know why it's just the way I chose it. Ok I'm lying, I'm lazy and I had just finished reading the script courtesy of the 14 scripts in 14 days over at gointothestory.com. So sue me dickhead, at least I'm reading!
So why did I pick this script up to review? First because it's OLD. The film was shot in black and white, and in my own personal count of watching movies in black and white (an amount I can count on one hand), I've only seen two that I can say I thoroughly enjoyed, Psycho and Casablanca. Don't get me started on Citizen Kane. I watched it in a bad mood and the experience was soured, but I digress.
First impressions of The Apartment. How the hell do you make a movie about a guy letting other people use his small apartment building? By all accounts of what screen writing gurus talk about strong story hooks, this is a film that would never get made in today's climate. But then again, the present time didn't have writers like they did back in the old days. I'll admit, the premise felt extremely weak and I thought it would be one of those really long old movies everyone says is a classic but you can't bring yourself to watching it. But I'll catch The Apartment one day, I'm looking forward to it.
The story is about C.C. Baxter or as he likes to be called, Bud. Bud is this young insurance guy looking to make his way up the ranks. So he does what anyone desperate for a promotion does, blowing everyone in a huge orgy every week. Alright it isn't explicit, the film was made in the 60's after all! Bud "leases" out his apartment to his co-workers so they can commit adultery or as I like to call it sexy time. Bud gives them a place to go and the "Clients", that is, Bud's superiors, give him a recommendation for promotion. Bud wants to have enough money to buy the latest fashion, become one of the big dogs by looking like one.
Well things get complicated, as it should. Bud develops a friendship with Fran and Bud had just been promoted to Personnel department under Mr Sheldrake, the kind of guy who likes to cozy up every secretary's skirt he sees. Sheldrake is cheating on his wife with Fran but Bud doesn't know it yet. Bud asks Fran out on a date to see a musical, with tickets given to him by Shledrake himself. But what Bud doesn't know is that Fran has a date already... with Sheldrake! Oooh, twists and turns just like a Soap Opera, my mother would like this.
Like I said, this is a film that would never have gotten made in today's climate. But the script is a real solid story. Bud is generally a good guy but is blinded by the fact that he's allowing other people take advantage of him. All for the purpose of promotion and money. It's certainly a timeless theme that the script explores, where do you draw the line between your job and your life? And I loved how the apartment was a metaphor for this. People taking advantage of other people to advance their wants. The clients want to unleash their sex hounds by cheating on their wives and taking them to Bud's apartment and Bud in return wants them to recommend him for promotion. Fran is his love interest but not a cliche'd one. She's her own person and she isn't there to just raise the stakes for our main character. She's there because she is a mirror of Bud, someone who has given much for her "happiness". She's in love with Sheldrake but Sheldrake is just stringing her along for most of the script.
Now, on to the criticism. The script stands at 156 pages (give or take, it was downloaded from mypdfscripts.com and converted) and much of that is to be blamed on the overly descriptive language. The screenplay dips into novel like description in some parts and makes the reading of it slow down considerably. But this is written in the 60's and that was how it was written back then. Nowadays, scripts have to be as concise as possible, because the thing was, I didn't really care about the description anyways (I skimmed the long paragraphs; I think I could catch what was going on)
What I noticed is that scripts from waaay back in the old days liked to take their time with establishing characters. I kinda got the hint that Bud was a good guy by the way he acts around people, how he is the only man in the elevator who takes off his hat in the presence of a woman, (How's that for being dated?) and how he cares more for his job than his personal health and personal life. But it could be trimmed down in places.
What I absolutely loved was how the script ended with Fran and Bud being together without doing the whole hugs and kisses at the end of a romantic comedy. It was beautifully written and orchestrated. New Years and she runs back to the apartment to play a game of Gin with Bud instead of being with Sheldrake. Subtext of saying "I want to be with you" without saying it. It was all done in action. Beautiful
Now, I'm going to put this movie on my to watch list.
4/5
here's the trailer, amazing how marketing was back in the day, I wouldn't go watch it if it had been marketed like this:
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